1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a use of a plurality of input portions in an information processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of input devices for a user to input information to a device comes into widespread use. Such input devices are, for example, a keyboard, a touch-sensitive panel display, and a mouse.
Different forms of on-screen keyboard (refer to FIGS. 4 and 5), e.g., a full keyboard and a numeric keyboard can be displayed on a touch-sensitive panel display. Such an on-screen keyboard is generally called a “software keyboard” or “virtual keyboard”. The user inputs a sign (letter, numeral, or mark) by touching a key, of the on-screen keyboard, corresponding to the sign.
The user may also input a sign by writing the same on a display surface of the touch-sensitive panel display with finger or pen (refer to FIG. 6). Such an input method is generally called “handwriting input”.
As described above, different types of input means are implemented by combining input devices with a variety of screens.
Further, an input means is widely used which converts a word spoken by a user into a sign based on a signal of sound picked up by a microphone.
Further, as an input system by means of a touch-sensitive panel display, the following system has been proposed.
A remote access control system includes a connection source terminal having a touch panel type input/output section to be operated by user's hands and a connection destination terminal to be accessed from the connection source terminal through a communication network. The connection destination terminal includes an application monitoring section for notifying the connection source terminal of a type or an item of an application focused by remote operation, and the connection source terminal includes a virtual keyboard display section for determining a keyboard type corresponding to the application or the item notified from the connection destination terminal and displaying a suitable virtual keyboard on a touch panel (Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2014-137671).
A portable telephone set has been proposed which includes a display part provided with a back light, and a control part. The control part controls the display part to display a screen having a password input field into which a password is entered. When the password input field is selected, the control part sends a control signal for turning off the back light to the display part (Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-348224).
According to the conventional technologies, a user arbitrarily selects an input means according to his/her preference from among a plurality of input means and uses the selected input means. Alternatively, the user presets, as a default input means, his/her favorite input means in a device. This enables the user to use the default input means promptly when the need for input operation arises.
In some cases, however, the default input means is not preferable to input sensitive information (such as confidential information).